[Open]

[promissum]

WHO: Val and quest takers!
WHERE: Bluo, the woods, around town
WHEN: December
WHAT: Open quests
WARNINGS: None for now!

A. Quest 36, blue for quest, anyone for chatting

[He reads it several times and honestly he has no idea what caroling is. A human thing, surely. Does he know much about human things? Not the joyful spirited kind.]

You there. [Stranger or not, blue or not.] What is caroling?

B. Quest 38, wide open

[He has no idea what Christmas spiders are, but decorating a tree is at least something that makes sense. There are no little bat charms around, but he could pretty easily make them with enough effort.]

I'm a yellow. [It's as abrupt as he ever is.] Come get and decorate a tree with me. [It's more like a demand than a request.]

C. Wildcard
[Wildcard, just tag him here for any other ideas. He sure loves fishing.]

Comments

[promissum]

There's not much in the way of glitter in this town, but we can make some ribbons easily enough. There are plenty of rags around.

[Incredibly colorless rags, but you know, how picky can they really be?]

My name is Valvatorez.

[But he will start walking into the woods, considering the trees they're passing by.]

[neronian]

[ Nero makes a sound of agreement. They can make ribbons out of rags, tie some sticks together in a way that makes them look like snowflakes, carve stuff out of wood, maybe find some winterberries and pinecones...something. Anything. No gold for her, alas. ]

You may refer to me as Saber. [ ... ] Ah, but if another one arrives, then you may call me Red Saber.

[ Since she arrived after Archer, who knows if other Servants will pop in or not? ]

[promissum]

[They have options, they just take some work. Val's never been the type to shy away from work. It's nice to have something to occupy his time when he doesn't have souls to instruct.]

Is Saber just a class name like Fighter or Warrior?

[neronian]

[ Umu! Nero's eyes widen in surprise, but in a good way. She smiles. A sharp one! Then again, he's one of the few to hear her talk about other Sabers too, and not just hearing her simply calling herself Saber. ]

Correct, and you are the first one to arrive at that so quickly! You also have classes from where you hail from, I see.

[ Thank god, it'll make explaining things a little easier. Even though she doesn't have Aestus Estus materialized, it should be obvious enough just what kind of fighter she is and what kind of weapon she wields. ]

[promissum]

[His entire life is just one big RPG that he's hideously aware of. If somebody's going to call himself by a class name, he's going to understand it.]

Yes, everyone has a class. My own is Prinny Instructor.

[Which likely means nothing to anybody else. "Saber" is an easy enough guess. She uses a sword.]

[neronian]

[ Indeed, it means nothing to her except that he is an instructor of...some sort. ]

What is a Prinny? Is it some sort of weapon...?

[ Yyyyyyyes and no? ]

[promissum]

I am not a weapon instructor. Prinnies are the sinful souls of humans stitched into penguin like skins. I teach them how to earn their way to reincarnation.

I've been told people consider them "cute".

[neronian]

[ The souls of the damned, stitched into...penguin-like skins. Not the strangest thing she's heard of, but up there. At any rate, it's a good thing that they have some way of learning how to earn their way into reincarnation. But (maybe) more importantly: ]

Oho! A mentor of the afterlife, I see. Do you have a picture of these penguin-like souls? I must judge their cuteness for myself.

[ Nero quickly glances at the trees around them as they wander around the woods, taking care not to stray too far from her companion. No, that pine is too big to be a proper tree. No, that one is too small. No, that one isn't even a pine. ]

[promissum]

I put up a drawing of one. I don't usually carry around a camera while I'm working. [Technically he's always working at home. It's his preferred state. Unfortunately this place doesn't even give him consistent work. There are quests, but it's not the same kind of thing as at home.]

I could recreate it on one of those laptops.

[neronian]

You will have to show me once we decorate this tree, then.

[ She!! Wants to judge the Prinnies' appearance...but first things first. ]

Nevertheless, how does one earn their way into reincarnation from where you hail from?

[ She's guessing there's no Throne of Heroes where he comes from. ]

[promissum]

Simple, they pay off their sins.

[He means literally. They very literally spend time doing menial work for incredibly poor pay and then use the wages to pay off their sins.

That's not what he says though.]

[neronian]

[ That's not what he says, so she doesn't quite get it. ]

Pay...off? You mean that they try to resolve their own sins?

[ Like, if a guy kills 5 people, he becomes a Prinny and has to save 5 people's lives or something??? ]

[promissum]

No, I meant it literally. The weight of their crimes can be paid off by the work and wages that they earn acting as prinnies. Both the Netherworld and Celestia have plenty of menial work.

[He even pairs it with a dramatic, unnecessary cape swish.]

[neronian]

[ The extra-ness. She loves it. Although she is curious as to just what sort of world he's from, now, if she wasn't before. So he is from the Netherworld, a place she has heard is the realm of demons, but has never quite been there herself. Still, this fellow seems all right, and if he's an instructor, then he's probably not malicious, so she continues having an open mind. ]

I see, I see. How are their sins measured in a quantifiable way? I would think it difficult to judge.

[ Murder probably racks up the highest "debt", she's thinking. Stuff like sneaking someone else's snack is probably down there, in comparison. ]

[promissum]

[Val doesn't tend toward malicious when he's left on his own. There's just no reason for it. Besides, it's not in his job description anyway.]

I am not the one that does those judgement. Those are between the prinny and God. I just teach them how to behave while they're prinnies.

[neronian]

[ Nero's...track record with Christianity and Abrahamic religions that follow a single god (and not multiple gods, like with Roman paganism) is not the greatest, so she will pointedly look away when he mentions God with a capital G. ]

And how should a Prinny behave?

[ If it's menial work, she feels kind of bad for them already. ]

[promissum]

[Technically Val has a really long list of complaints, but that's for the creature calling themselves "god" at home.]

Prinny rule number one! They must always include the word "dood" in every line they say!

[neronian]

[ Nero is Confused, and squints in said confusion. ]

"Dood"?! I-Is that not a form of modern slang? What does that have to do with becoming a worker?

[promissum]

It's a constant reminder of their place in the hierarchy! "Dood" is a reminder of all the sins they need to pay off!

[neronian]

[ Nero nods...hesitantly, but then understandingly. ]

I see, I see! Constant reinforcement! Perhaps I would have used things other than slang to drill in one's place, but...

[ Whatever works, works, really. ]

Anyway, what is Prinny rule number two?

[promissum]

They don't stop talking, so they'll never stop reminding themselves.

The second rule is that they must accept their meager pay! It may take centuries of hard, backbreaking labor, but they sinned in their human lives! Now they must pay it back!

[With how loud they are, they're probably disturbing the local wildlife.]

[neronian]

[ Most likely, yes, and Nero senses that a small woodland creature or two have already evacuated the premises, leaving them alone with the larger sort. ]

And how meager is this pay?

[ Her hands carefully trace the needles of the nearby pine tree she is also examining (with the grain, not against it), and she lets out a thoughtful hm. Maybe this is the one? A tree about the size of her, all almost-5-feet of her. ]

[promissum]

[It's amazing a mutated bear hasn't charged at them yet.]

It depends on the demon who ends up with them. The standard is a single sardine a day.

[neronian]

[ Maybe soon(tm), once they think they've got the perfect tree, a mutated bear will come and try to ruin their day and tree.

Nero raises an eyebrow. Who uses sardines as currency??? ]

Y-You use sardines as currency to pay off one's sins? Why those?

[ Because they're penguin-like creatures, but...Valvatorez is clearly a vampire, and supposedly he's also part of this...economy. ]

[promissum]

Most demons would tell you they're cheap. I will tell you they're full of nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin B. They're an excellent replacement for human blood!

[Val does dress exactly like a vampire.]